Portable container for storing viscous substance

ABSTRACT

A portable container for storing a substance capable of having varying degrees of viscosity is described. The container holds the substance, such as marijuana concentrate, without leakage or spilling and at a nearly constant upright or level position. The container includes several components including an outer shell, an inner ball having a low center of gravity, and liners that are inserted into the inner ball to hold the substance. A heavy base in the inner ball provides a low center of gravity for the ball which helps keep it upright regardless of the orientation or movement of the container. The outer shell includes two components that are coupled tightly using a pin, track, and magnet mechanism requiring little effort by the user to open and close.

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to pending U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/316,415, filed Mar. 31, 2016, entitled “Spherical Container”, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Marijuana concentrate is a fluid substance having varying degrees of viscosity depending primarily on the ambient temperature of the environment in which the concentrate is stored. At room temperature and cooler, the substance has a low viscosity, that is, it does not flow or flows slowly. Once the temperature increases and the ambient temperature becomes warmer, the substance has a higher viscosity; it can be characterized as slowly “melting” and becoming more of a liquid that seeks its own level. This causes at least two related problems for those carrying the substance. One is that it may seep out of a container if it is not tightly sealed. Second, if the container is properly sealed to prevent leakage, the substance, being more viscous, will seek its own level (like any liquid) and may settle in such a way that causes spillage or leakage when the user opens the container. Depending on how the container was positioned or oriented in the user's pocket or handbag, for example, opening the container can cause the substance to leak out and, generally, cause an unpleasant and messy experience. The substance may have melted to an extent that caused it to seek a level or position in the container (e.g., at a steep angle) that makes opening the container difficult without getting the substance on the user's fingers, on the container's edges and outer surface, or onto other articles. Moreover, the substance can be wasted or get on other articles in the user's pocket, handbag, and the like. Overall, all these factors diminish the user experience of storing, transporting, and accessing the concentrate or whatever substance is being stored.

It would be desirable to have a container for marijuana concentrate or any viscous substance having similar properties that prevents seeping or leakage when closed. It would also be desirable to have the container allow the substance to always be upright, that is, conform to a level that is horizontal or flat (e.g., relative to the floor or ground) when its viscosity increases to prevent accidental spillage when opening.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention and the advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective diagram of a bottom component of the container;

FIG. 2 is a perspective diagram of a top component of the container;

FIG. 3 is a perspective diagram showing a closed container;

FIG. 4A is a perspective diagram of an inner ball in accordance with one embodiment;

FIG. 4B is a straight side view of the inner ball showing relative sizes of base and storage area;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing inner ball resting in a container component;

FIG. 6 which shows a container component held at roughly an angle and inner ball remaining flat;

FIG. 7 shows various types of liners; and

FIG. 8 is a perspective diagram showing a liner in an inner ball.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A portable container for storing a substance capable of having varying degrees of viscosity is described. The container holds the substance, such as marijuana concentrate, without leakage or spilling and at a nearly constant upright or level position. In one aspect of the invention, the container includes several components. The outer shell is made up of two components that interlock with each other using a series of pins that insert into a series of tracks or indentations. Magnets in each component pull the two components together in a manner where the pins easily fall into place in the tracks without effort from the user. The seal is tight to prevent leakage or spilling of the substance. The container can be opened by twisting the components in opposite directions to a point where the user can easily pull the two apart. In the shell is an inner ball that has a heavy base and a wide opening at the top. The storage area of the ball is surrounded by a lighter material and the floor of the storage area is a flat surface of the metal base. This base provides a low center of gravity for the ball which helps keep it upright regardless of the orientation or movement of the container. Various types of liners can be inserted into the cavity of the inner ball to hold the substance. In this manner the substance, which may become more viscous as temperatures rises, stays upright or level and thereby prevents leakage or spilling when the user opens the container.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A container for storing a substance capable of having varying degrees of viscosity without leakage or spilling and at a nearly constant upright or level position is described in the various figures. In one embodiment, the container is generally spherical and is about one inch in diameter. In other embodiments, the container may have different volumetric shapes and dimensions.

In one embodiment, the container has an outer or exterior shell comprised of two components, a top and a bottom. As is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the two components are similarly shaped with the primary difference being the features that enable coupling of the two components to create the container.

FIG. 1 is a perspective diagram of a bottom component. As can be seen, bottom component 102 has a semi-spherical shape and a portion of the bottom is flat (not shown) so it can stand upright when placed on a level surface. A flat cross-cut section 104 traversing the top perimeter of the component shows a sample width or thickness of component 102. This width can vary in other embodiments. In one embodiment, the edge has five notches or indentations with openings on the outer surface of component 102. Each indentation holds a magnet where a first portion of the magnet is embedded in the notch and a second portion of the magnet protrudes or extends from the outer surface of component 102. Shown are five magnets 106 a-106 e. The top surface of each magnet 106 a-106 e is flush with flat cross-cut section 104. Also shown are five teeth or pins 108 a-108 e, each one adjacent to each of magnets 106 a-106 e. In other embodiments, teeth 108 a-108 e can be placed at any location between magnets 106 a-106 e. In one embodiment, they are made of the same material as the material used for the body of component 102, such as plastic, aluminum, carbon fiber, lucite, or wood. In other embodiments, there may be fewer or more pins and magnets in component 102. For example, there may be four or seven pins or magnets. The number of pins and magnets need not be the same.

FIG. 2 is a perspective diagram of a top component 202 of the container. Its shape is also semi-spherical and is nearly identical to dimensions of bottom component 102 in order to form a spherical container when coupled. In other embodiments, the shape of the container is not spherical and the two components 102 and 202 need not have identical dimensions. Component 202 also has a flat cross-cut surface 204 around its bottom perimeter. It also has five magnets 206 a-206 e embedded in five indentations. In the spaces between the magnets along surface 204 are indentations or cavities that form tracks that extends along the curved perimeter of component 202. There are five such tracks, 208 a-208 e. Teeth 108 a-108 e fit into the tracks and can move in them when components 102 and 202 are coupled and turned in opposite directions as described below.

In this manner, magnets 106 a-106 e in component 102 and magnets 206 a-206 e in component 202 attract each other to keep the two components tightly sealed. As noted, pins in component 102 fit into tracks (indentations) in component 202. When a user wants to open the container, she turns or twists each component in opposite directions, thereby causing the pins to move inside the tracks. First, magnets that are attached to each other are pulled away horizontally along the edge (by virtue of the user only twisting the two components). When the magnets are about half way along the track and each tooth has traversed the entire length of the track, the attractive force of the magnets is significantly decreased and the user can now easily pull the two components apart, thereby opening the container. To close the container, the user brings the two components close to each other and the magnets quickly attract thereby pulling the two components together coupling them, and sealing the container. The teeth immediately engage, that is, fall into the tracks, without the user having to align them. This mechanism for opening and closing the container may be referred to as a “cam” mechanism which has as its primary means the easy and quick alignment of the pins with the tracks wherein the pins are directed into the tracks by virtue of the magnetic attraction and little effort from the user. More specifically, the locking or closing mechanism of the novel container is referred to as the AKS (Alex Kessler Sadowski) Locking mechanism. With the AKS mechanism, when a container 302 is sealed, magnets in each component are aligned with each other as shown in FIG. 3. In the sealed position, each tooth is adjacent to a paired set of magnets. As noted, to open the container, the user twists the components in opposite directions until each tooth is adjacent to the next paired set of magnets. For example, tooth 108 a is adjacent to magnets 106 a and 206 a when the container is closed. Tooth 108 a moves along track 208 a to magnets 106 b and 206 b at which time the user can pull the two components apart. At this time the distance between magnets 206 b and 106 b is half the length of the track or, more specifically, half the length between each paired set of magnets.

Each of components 102 and 202 may have ornamental design features on their outer surfaces. For example, the top of component 202 may be flat and have a trademark, logo, or other insignia to identify the source or manufacturer of the novel container.

Another component of the container of the present invention may be characterized as an inner ball. FIG. 4A is a perspective diagram of an inner ball in accordance with one embodiment. The ball has an open top made of a material (e.g., the same material used for components 102 and 202) of a certain density and a base having a heavier density, for example, a base made of metal. More specifically, the inner ball can be described as two separate pieces, the spherically-shaped, open-top container and a metallic (or heavy) base that attaches to the bottom of the container.

The shape, orientation, and dimensions of the substance stored in the container conforms to the inside of inner ball 402. The dimensions of ball 402 are such that the ball fits into either of components 102 and 202. As noted, a metallic base 404 may function as the bottom of the spherically-shaped, open-top container 406. Collectively, they form inner ball 402. The weight and size of base 404 is calibrated to provide inner ball 402 with the lowest center of gravity as possible. This is the goal of having a heavy base and its benefits are described below. In addition, the size of the open space or cavity within inner ball 402 is sufficiently large to hold a specific amount of concentrate. The relative sizes of base 404 and the storage area of inner ball 402 is shown more clearly in FIG. 4B where a straight side view shows the relatively smaller size of the heavy base and the larger storage area above it encased by a lighter material as noted above. In other embodiments, the ratio of the size of base 404 to the size of the opening or cavity may vary depending on the type of substance being stored. However, the objective of having a low center of gravity for inner ball 402 does not change. Ball 402 rests in either component 102 or 202 and rotate and swivel freely. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing inner ball 402 resting in component 202. When the orientation of the container changes (e.g., when inside a pocket, handbag, backpack, etc.), inner ball 402 remains essentially stationary.

Heavy base 404 of inner ball 402 and the ability of ball 402 to move freely while in either or both of the components when the container is closed allows the substance stored in ball 402 to stay upright when viscosity increases (e.g., when it gets warm and the substance starts to melt). Heavy base 404 uses gravity to stay at bottom of the container regardless of orientation of the container or how much the container is being moved around or jostled. Because the inner ball tends to stay upright, the substance stays level. As such, the substance will not leak, spill, or seep out when the user opens the container. When the user opens the container, the substance is flat, that is, level with the flat surface of the metallic base. This is shown in FIG. 6 which shows a container component held at roughly a 55 degree angle but inner ball 402 remaining flat (0 degrees), specifically, the flat, top portion of metallic base 404 where the substance rests, remains flat or upright.

In one embodiment, the cavity or inside space of inner ball 402 allows for insertion of a secondary container or liner to hold the substance. A liner sits inside the inner ball to form a barrier between the encased substance and the inner ball. Examples of such inserts are shown in FIG. 7. A liner 702 has a divider so that two different types of concentrates can be stored and liner 704 is intended to store a larger volume of a single type of concentrate. They can be plastic or rubber containers that fit precisely into inner ball 402 wherein the rim of the liner is flush with the open-top edge of inner ball 402. As noted, a liner may have a divider so that two types of substances can be stored separately to prevent mixing or either one coming into contact with each other. Other variations of liners or inserts may be used with inner ball 402. Liners may also have caps or lids as an additional measure against spillage or leaking. As long as the liner is not heavier than metallic base 404, the advantageous properties of inner ball 402 in keeping the substance upright at all times to prevent leakage will not be adversely affected. FIG. 8 is a perspective diagram showing a liner 704 in an inner ball 402. As noted there may be a lid over the liner.

Although only a few embodiments of the invention have been described in detail, it should be appreciated that the invention may be implemented in many other forms without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Therefore, the present embodiments should be considered illustrative and not restrictive and the invention is not to be limited to the details given herein. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A container for storing a viscous substance comprising: a first outer component having a plurality of pins and a first plurality of magnets; a second outer component having a plurality of indentations and a second plurality of magnets; an inner ball having a base and a storage component, wherein the base provides a low center of gravity for the inner ball and wherein the substance remains upright and level regardless of orientation or movement of the container, thereby preventing leakage and loss of substance when opening the container.
 2. A container as recited in claim 1 wherein the first outer component is coupled to the second outer component by having the plurality of pins inserted into the plurality of indentations.
 3. A container as recited in claim 2 wherein the first plurality of magnets is attracted to the second plurality of magnets thereby creating a tightly sealed container when the first outer component and the second outer component are coupled.
 4. A container as recited in claim 3 wherein the plurality of pins is aligned with the plurality of indentations through attraction of the magnets thereby requiring minimal effort by the user to have to performed said alignment.
 5. A container as recited in claim 2 wherein separating the first outer component and the second outer component requires twisting such that the plurality of pins move within the plurality of indentations and the attraction between the first plurality of magnets and the second plurality of magnets decreases enabling a user to separate the first outer component and the second outer component.
 6. A container as recited in claim 1 wherein the base of the inner ball has a higher density than a material forming the storage component and wherein the inner ball has a low center of gravity.
 7. A container as recited in claim 1 wherein the first outer component and the second outer component is comprised of one of plastic, aluminum, carbon fiber, and wood. 